Sick teen says she's eaten only McNuggets

[Isolder74]

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Sick teen says she's eaten only McNuggets
By Lisa Collier Cool
Jan 26, 2012

When the kids are wailing, the boss wasn’t happy with your presentation, and the kitchen is anything but pristine, what mom hasn’t thrown up her hands and given in to demands for chicken nuggets? Like, three times a week?

Maybe Mom should tell the kids: Be careful what you wish for.

Read about celebrities who dealt with eating disorders.

This week 17-year-old British factory worker Stacey Irvine was rushed to the hospital when she collapsed, struggling to breathe. During the exam, doctors were stunned to learn that Ms. Irvine had never in her life eaten fruit or vegetables; instead she had eaten almost nothing but fast-food chicken nuggets since she was two years old.

Her mother, Evonne Irvine, told reporters she had gone to great lengths to try to feed her daughter more nutritious food, at one point even trying to starve the girl, but it hadn’t worked. Stacey responded that, once she started eating nuggets, she “loved them so much they were all I would eat.”

Learn to grow your own fruits and vegetables.
What’s so bad about nuggets?

They would be bad enough if they were merely chunks of chicken that had been breaded and deep-fried in oil. One documentary describes McDonald's nuggets as chickens “stripped down to the bone, and then 'ground up’ into a chicken mash, then combined with a variety of stabilizers and preservatives, pressed into familiar shapes, breaded and deep fried, freeze dried, and then shipped to a McDonald’s near you.”

Aside from chicken and oil, those “stabilizers and preservatives” are said to include dimethylpolysiloxane, a form of silicone also used in cosmetics. Another additive is tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), a form of butane. According to one report, chicken is only about 50 percent of a McNugget; the remainder is a mixture of corn-derived ingredients, sugars and synthetic substances.

If a four-piece serving of Chicken McNuggets carried a nutrition label, at first glance it wouldn’t seem too scary: 190 calories, 12 grams of carbs and 12 grams of fat. But consider that more than half of those calories (56 percent) are from fat—and protein accounts for a mere four percent. Add a whopping 360 mg sodium, and its image as “the more nutritious fast-food snack” fades.

Read about 15 surprisingly healthy fast food picks.
What’s the worst that can happen?

Aside from collapsing and gasping for air, as Stacey Irvine did? Doctors also discovered that the veins in Ms. Irvine’s tongue were swollen and she was diagnosed with anemia. Further, such a high salt intake can increase a person’s blood pressure (which ultimately can put them at risk for a stroke or heart attack).

McNuggets are low in nutrients everyone needs, such as calcium, fiber, vitamins, antioxidants and healthy fats, so a steady diet of nuggets means missing out on the health benefits of those ingredients.

Find out which vitamins you really need.
So what’s a parent to do?

If your kids are hooked on nuggets, experts offer these suggestions for steering them towards healthier eating:

* Serve a variety of healthy foods at home to prevent “picky eater” habits from forming. Taking them grocery shopping, teaching them to find and choose foods, and involving them in meal planning tells them you want to prepare meals they will enjoy.
* Set realistic goals. If the child bristles at eating a side portion of veggies, make a game to get him to take one bite of the new-tasting food.
* Make your own chicken snacks at home, using healthy dipping sauces like marinara sauce, yogurt or mustard. If you must bread the nuggets, dip them in an egg, roll them in cornflake crumbs and bake, don’t fry.
* If you’re eating out, cut out half of the trans and saturated fat by ordering a grilled chicken sandwich instead of nuggets. Order for your child from the adult menu, or share your sandwich with her, so the nuggets issue doesn’t come up.
* Be consistent and firm, but encourage and praise the child every time she tries a new, healthier food. And be a good role model—don’t expect children to eat healthy when one or both parents snack on salty chips or fatty, processed foods.
* Keep healthy foods in the meal, even when you give in and allow your child to order nuggets. Serve it with a side salad, fruit, or a slice of whole-grain bread.

Bolding mine. What?

I'd like to say something else to start but, "No, duh." is the only thing that immediately comes to mind.

You know this girl makes Veruca Salt not look spoiled. How can parenting ever get to this kind of point?

The mother claims she's tried to get her to eat something else but I have to wonder. How hard did she really try? It doesn't sound like she put that much of an effort into it.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

There's a point, I think, where, as a parent, you have to NOT give in, even if it means you feel like crap about it. I mean, when MY parents were kids, they would have to eat every single thing on their plate, whether they liked it or not, or else they weren't allowed to leave the table. If her parents had the iron in them to actually exert their will on their kids, she'd be fine.

[Pokonic]

..... Poof that out there, there are simply some parents who never realy take there time to actualy explain what the word "nutrition" means.

[Mando Knight]

Happened to see an episode of one of my sister's TV shows that featured people like that... it happens. And people like them are mind-boggling, but they're people who've done it that way for years (the seventeen-year-old did it for one and a half decades), and so normality is just as alien to them as their ways are to us...

[Pokonic]

Happened to see an episode of one of my sister's TV shows that featured people like that... it happens. And people like them are mind-boggling, but they're people who've done it that way for years (the seventeen-year-old did it for one and a half decades), and so normality is just as alien to them as their ways are to us...

Still, said someone should at least have someone close to them who could snap them out of there nuggity craze, or at least get a clue from others that eating a single product is not good for ones body!

[Traab]

Things like this are why I got so pissed every time id see my mother or sister bend to the whims of my baby niece as she would declare what she would and would not eat. It is not the place of a child to make those decisions, it is the job of the parents to make them eat what they are supposed to eat. I doubt very much that she "starved" her daughter. Missing one meal then caving on the next doesnt count as starving. If she got hungry enough, she would eat it. Make up a meal that will keep for a long time, then tell her she gets nothing till everything on the plate has been eaten. No child will be able to hold out long enough to do real damage to themselves. Any time they complain about being hungry, point to the plate of food you want them to eat. Of course, if you wait till they are a teenager it gets a hell of alot harder.

[Lord Seth]

Well, at least I can look at my not-particularly-great diet and say "it could be worse."

[Whiffet]

Okay, yeah, there's no way the mother tried hard enough. I'm sure the kid put up a huge fight every time (at least, I hope... ) and I'm sure the mother would get extremely exhausted from this, but that's pretty normal. Every kid will pick something to fight against, something where parents just can't give in. It's part of the job.

So she knows nothing but McNuggets? Wow, she's missing out on so much.

[Xondoure]

There is a certain point where picky eaters will be picky eaters and all the parents can do is put food on a plate whether the child will eat it or not. This is waaaaaay past that line. If she was running into these sort of obstacles she should have seen a nutritionist. It's sickening just reading about it.

[tensai_oni]

1. This belongs in Friendly Banter I think.

2. This is a dietary abomination, but the "what is on the plate must disappear" approach is hurting too. Sometimes you just do not feel hungry. And even if all meals in your house are perfectly balanced, sooner or later you eat out and then you are conditioned to eat everything from your plate, even as you eat unhealthy or super-sized rations. Obesity follows.

I still hate picky eating. But being a picky eater is more about attitude than eating preferences.

[Goosefeather]

How can she know she wouldn't like other foods without even trying them?

I can understand not wanting to try new things; as a child, I was the same (four foods were accepted, anything else would be rejected, be it before or after actually eating it!), but my parents persisted and now I'm happy to eat pretty much anything (being a poverty-stricken student might help there!)

Still, having such a monotonous diet for FIFTEEN YEARS... To be honest, it makes her come across as an unimaginative, boring person. How can anyone be so lacking in curiosity as to not even try new things even once in a while?

[Whiffet]

2. This is a dietary abomination, but the "what is on the plate must disappear" approach is hurting too. Sometimes you just do not feel hungry. And even if all meals in your house are perfectly balanced, sooner or later you eat out and then you are conditioned to eat everything from your plate, even as you eat unhealthy or super-sized rations. Obesity follows.

Yeah, that's a bad idea. There's other ways to discourage picky eating. My parents told me I had to eat the vegetables first and try a little of everything. I'm sure people here have other methods to share, too.

The more I think about this, the more horrifying it sounds. At first I mostly thought about the health implications, but what about life experiences? Trying new foods gets kids ready to try other new things. Variety spices up life and lets you discover wonderful things, but you have to be willing to try something different.

[Traab]

1. This belongs in Friendly Banter I think.

2. This is a dietary abomination, but the "what is on the plate must disappear" approach is hurting too. Sometimes you just do not feel hungry. And even if all meals in your house are perfectly balanced, sooner or later you eat out and then you are conditioned to eat everything from your plate, even as you eat unhealthy or super-sized rations. Obesity follows.

I still hate picky eating. But being a picky eater is more about attitude than eating preferences.

There is a wide range of behavior between "Eat every bite of everything i give to you" and "Go ahead, eat whatever you like, no matter how much damage it does to your health, im such a spineless jellyfish i cant make my own child do something." Its one thing to put a well balanced plate of food in front of a kid and they leave some of their veggies. Its another thing entirely when they refuse to eat anything decent and you pander to them. You are the adult, they are the child. Get them in the habit of eating what you give them young, and it will stick with them. They dont have to clear their plate, so long as they are getting enough of the stuff that matters. My niece is 10 years old, and for as long as she could make her preferences known she has completely controlled her own diet. She will refuse to eat anything not on a narrow list of foods, but thankfully there is enough decent food mixed in with the garbage that this nugget scenario wont happen.

Its all I can do to keep the scowl off my face as I watch my sister or my mother try to get her to try new food only for her to absolutely refuse to consider it, and they instantly cave in and get her a &^%$ corn dog or something. When I watch her, she eats what I give her because she knows otherwise she gets nothing. Im willing to bend a bit on things, like say, she dislikes some vegetables and likes others, so i will give her that instead of trying to cram a veggie she hates down her throat. But if she tries to give me some line of garbage about how she doesnt like chicken, or beef, then I shrug and let her know she wont eat anything else until she eats a specific amount of what i want her to eat. I wont let her get three helpings of the one side dish she likes while the main course rots on her plate. Are you hungry? Then eat what i give you. She gets stubborn about it? Then she doesnt get to use the computer or watch tv/play games. Let her sit there with nothing to do but think about how hungry she is. She always gives in before bed time.

[Admiral Squish]

...I simply can't beleive this. I can't honestly believe that in 17 years, that this girl didn't eat anything but chicken nuggets. She'd have gotten scurvy LONG before she made it to 17. This is just some stupid publicity prank.

As for the 'eat everything on your plate'... Well, at my house, mom made the food, and you ate the food. You didn't eat the food, you went hungry until the next meal. You didn't have to eat everything, but if you wanted more of the good stuff, you had to eat all of the vegetables first.

[Dark Elf Bard]

Happened to see an episode of one of my sister's TV shows that featured people like that... it happens. And people like them are mind-boggling, but they're people who've done it that way for years (the seventeen-year-old did it for one and a half decades), and so normality is just as alien to them as their ways are to us...

[tensai_oni]

@Traab

Indeed. This is my point exactly, that the best diet lies between two extremes. Glad we are in agreement.

[H Birchgrove]

To some degree, I was a "picky eater" too. I didn't like raw carrots (didn't mind boiled carrots) and fish; the latter often still makes me physically ill, with some exceptions. (I can eat pickled herring and "fish balls" without trouble. I like the taste of boiled salmon but it still makes me ill.)

But no vegetables *at all*? Only McNuggets? What in blazes?

I'm surprised she didn't get beriberi, scurvy and/or any other nutrition disorder(s). I hope she at least drank some fruit juice and milk. At least the parents could have given her vitamin and mineral pills, though that's an expensive substitute.

I hope both she and her parents have learned a lesson and now will eat properly. I recommend wok.

PS. I shouldn't be surprised over how much crapola there is in McNuggets. But I am. I actually thought they were somewhat better than the hamburgers.

[Hiro Protagonest]

PS. I shouldn't be surprised over how much crapola there is in McNuggets. But I am. I actually thought they were somewhat better than the hamburgers.

A while back there was a TV show about a British chef coming here and doing the same thing he did in Britain, trying to get kids to eat healthier foods. One time, he made chicken nuggets in front of the youngest elementary students, like 6-8 years old, he said in an interview portion (you know how some of these shows have occasional flips from the main part to a relevant portion of an interview) that it worked like a charm back in Britain. The process described in the article was the exact process. When he was done, he asked who wanted those chicken nuggets he just made. Every kid raised their hand.

[An Enemy Spy]

How is it even possible to have never eaten a single fruit or vegetable? I mean, really?

[Arminius]

There is probably some sort of mental disorder going on here. It is one thing to like chicken nuggets, but to not like anything else? I find it hard to believe anyone sane would eat nothing but chicken nuggets. It is not even about eating healthy. Am I reading this right, or is it implying that she also doesn't eat hamburgers, bacon, sausage, cake, hotdogs, pizza, or <insert tasty unhealthy food here> either? I can understand not liking vegetables, I didn't like them much as a kid either. I can understand liking unhealthy foods in general, I have such proclivities too, but to like nothing but chicken nuggets is just plain bizarre.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

@Traab

Indeed. This is my point exactly, that the best diet lies between two extremes. Glad we are in agreement.

Exactly.

A while back there was a TV show about a British chef coming here and doing the same thing he did in Britain, trying to get kids to eat healthier foods. One time, he made chicken nuggets in front of the youngest elementary students, like 6-8 years old, he said in an interview portion (you know how some of these shows have occasional flips from the main part to a relevant portion of an interview) that it worked like a charm back in Britain. The process described in the article was the exact process. When he was done, he asked who wanted those chicken nuggets he just made. Every kid raised their hand.

Jamie Oliver, aye. Amazing chef. Also good-looking.

[Coidzor]

...That doesn't make any sense.

She wouldn't have been able to live to 17 if she only ate chicken nuggets. At the very least, scurvy would have cost her teeth and she'd have been unable to eat them anymore. Heck, shouldn't her iron deficiency between eating iron-poor chicken and being a woman have resulted in her dying or something?

An Enemy Spy: Bad Parenting and negative pressures in society... not to be underestimated what kinds of messed up kids they can create.

Like, "sexually reactive" children, for a particularly misanthropy inducing instance.

[H Birchgrove]

A while back there was a TV show about a British chef coming here and doing the same thing he did in Britain, trying to get kids to eat healthier foods. One time, he made chicken nuggets in front of the youngest elementary students, like 6-8 years old, he said in an interview portion (you know how some of these shows have occasional flips from the main part to a relevant portion of an interview) that it worked like a charm back in Britain. The process described in the article was the exact process. When he was done, he asked who wanted those chicken nuggets he just made. Every kid raised their hand.

But did he make those nuggets with the same ingredients as used by the food industry (to show how bad they are), or did he make *healthier* nuggets?

[Friv]

According to the article that I read, she technically doesn't only eat chicken nuggets, but she eats chicken nuggets for at least one meal a day, and usually for more. She also eats french fries, toast, and crisps, and presumably drinks milk sometimes I guess?

Anyway, while the mom clearly should have sent the girl somewhere, she said she went as far as trying to starve her into eating more nutritious food, which seems kind of last-resort, and has been fighting to get her daughter to see a nutrition specialist.

Also, and this is a suspicion that I have based on the way that the article is constructed, so I could be wrong, I suspect that this "nuggets only" thing gradually grew out of control as the daughter got older and more difficult to manage. The girl says that "Mum gave up giving me anything else years ago", not "Mum gave up giving me anything else instantly and I've been eating only nuggets since I was two."

[OracleofWuffing]

According to the article that I read, she technically doesn't only eat chicken nuggets, but she eats chicken nuggets for at least one meal a day, and usually for more. She also eats french fries, toast, and crisps, and presumably drinks milk sometimes I guess?

Did she actually get some health out of school cafeteria food?

That said, I'm one to speak... The first thing that jumped to mind here was, "So, did she eat them with ketchup, mustard, honey, ranch, bbq, or no sauce?"

[Pokonic]

Did she actually get some health out of school cafeteria food?

That said, I'm one to speak... The first thing that jumped to mind here was, "So, did she eat them with ketchup, mustard, honey, ranch, bbq, or no sauce?"

Nah, she takes some home and liquifies them to use as a dip, silly!

[OracleofWuffing]

...

...

...

Great, now I know what I need in order to wash down my KFC Double Down.

Oh my gosh this is so horrible.

[factotum]

This article has clearly been exaggerated to make the news. As already pointed out, if she'd GENUINELY been eating nothing but chicken nuggets (and note it isn't specified these had to be McDonald's nuggets, they just used that as an example of how unhealthy they are) all her life, she'd have been dead years ago. Maybe she only ever ate nuggets for her main meal and had other stuff for breakfast and lunch?

[_Zoot_]

Huh, in my house it was the quick or the dead. If I didn't eat the food, my Dad would, as well as that, we got a great range of food as my Mum is a fantastic chef and loves to cook interesting food. Well that might have been counter productive, as I now love to eat nearly anything that I can get my hands on, with the normal result of being over weight.

Oh well, C'est la vie.

[Coidzor]

...

...

...

Great, now I know what I need in order to wash down my KFC Double Down.

Oh my gosh this is so horrible.

...I now feel kinda queasy...